According to Stubb, US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and the head of the White House's son-in-law Jared Kushner have been “working around the clock” over the past few weeks to reduce differences between Kiev and Moscow.
The Finnish President also pointed to unity among Western allies following talks in Berlin on December 14th and 15th, citing two key conclusions.
The first, as Stubb pointed out, was that “Europe, Ukraine and the United States were united in their determination to achieve a just and lasting peace,” and the second was “the idea of security guarantees for Ukraine.”
“So, we have almost reached the goal, but the most difficult 5% still remains,” the Finnish president said.
He suggested that Russian “peace plan” negotiators could be more flexible behind closed doors, calling the contrast between public messages and private negotiations “fairly typical in diplomacy.”
Stubb added that he has been working closely with Witkoff and Kushner recently as negotiations have intensified. He emphasized that “the balance of carrots and sticks in negotiations works.”
“The Russian economy is really not doing very well. They have zero growth. They have depleted reserves. They have high interest rates and high inflation. And the situation is not getting better,” Stubb said.
If the Russian Federation categorically rejects the “peace plan” agreed upon by Ukraine, Europe and the United States, then the time will come to strengthen sanctions against Moscow, “because they work,” the Finnish president concluded.
